New Moon
by Willowdove
Summary: Inuyasha senses Kagome's scent change just before he transforms under the new moon. He tracks her down on the other side of the well to only to find her on a date with Hojo. Based on limited viewing through Season 1.
1. Chapter 1

Inuyasha paced uneasily by the well, his gaze flitting nervously between it and the darkening sky.

"Damn, Kagome," he muttered under his breath. He closed his eyes to focus on her scent, which widened when he registered her spike of adrenaline. Inuyasha's hand landed on the lip of the well, ready to spring into action any moment. _It could be anything, _he reminded himself, _excitement, stress and fear all smell the same._ He planned to wait for a further sign- a demon scent, or blood. But just then the moonless night began.

"Damn," he cursed again, and he vaulted into the well.

* * *

><p>"Hojo," Kagome giggled, squeezing his hand, "how did you manage to get this empty theater for us?"<p>

"It's a secret," he teased, squeezing her hand back. As the movie rolled on, he shifted closer. "Would it be okay if I kiss you, Kagome?" he asked hesitantly. Kagome's breath hitched.

"Well, um-" she blushed, "It's just I've never been kissed before."

Suddenly a figure burst through the doorway. He looked from Kagome to her held hand and back again. He took half a step back, realizing his intrusion.

"Inu-" Kagome began, but was cut off when Hojo pulled her in and kissed her, giving the newcomer a possessive glare. Kagome froze fore an instant, confused, then pushed Hojo away angrily.

"Hojo, I- I- I never told you that was okay!" she sputtered. Turning, she addressed Inuyasha, "What are you doing here? Is something wrong-" Kagome started to ask when his figure started pulsing, pausing as she picked up on his enraged expression. "Have you found a way around the new… moon..?" Inuyasha's eyes snapped open as the transformation completed, glowing blood red. "Inu…yasha…?"

"I'm going to kill you!" he screamed at Hojo, speeding toward him with claws outstretched.

"Stop! Inuyasha!" Kagome cried frantically, pushing Hojo down just before Inuyasha's Blades of Blood could reach him. The strike flew overhead and decimated the wall behind them, throwing dust and rubble into the air. Inuyasha hardly paused; he turned sharply and prepared to administer a downward punch. Seeing Kagome in the way, he threw her to the side, raking his claws down her arm in the process.

"Ah!" she cried, watching him crack his knuckles, "Um, sit!" The rosary around Inuyasha's neck obediently brought him down with a whomp. The red left his eyes and his hair fell black.

"Ka-gome?" he coughed, voice cracking.

"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, scooting next to him. Inuyasha's nose twitched.

"Kagome, you're bleeding!" he cried, grabbing her injured arm.

"It's nothing," she murmured, "You're back to normal now, that's all that matters." She pushed his hair behind his human ear, then paused, yanking softly on his earlobe. "Well, almost, anyway."

"Did I do that?" Inuyasha persisted softly, brushing his fingers over the wound.

"It's nothing," Kagome repeated, wincing.

"G-get away from her!" Hojo shouted suddenly, rushing forward and waving his arms. Inuyasha's eyes took on a faint red hue, and they were darkening by the second.

"Inuyasha! Look at me!" Kagome ordered, pulling his face around. The red faded.

"Hojo, you seen to incite the demon. Stay here, I'll bring Inuyasha back to the-" she faltered. "Back home."

Hojo stood frozen, staring as Kagome pulled Inuyasha to his feet. "This boy… is possessed by a demon every new moon?" Kagome exchanged a look with Inuyasha. He shrugged.

"You could say that," Kagome murmured, and walked out dragging Inuyasha by the hand.

They walked in silence for a while, and Inuyasha blushed as he dropped her hand.

Paying no mind, Kagome kept walking. "How am I supposed to live here anymore, Inuyasha?" she asked wistfully, "I have to lie to everyone."

"That's not my problem," he answered flippantly, waving her question away.

This was definitely not the proper answer. "You're so insensitive, Inuyasha! Don't you care at all about people's feelings? I was on a date!" Kagome accused.

"Hey! Your scent changed… I didn't know what it meant. I just- I wanted to… ah, just forget it, okay?" said Inuyasha, clenching his fist. Kagome cast a sideways glance at him, reproachful.

"Were you… Were you trying to protect me?"

"Humph! Who'd want to protect a girl like you?" he covered quickly.

Kagome sputtered briefly, but decided to ignore his comment. "I guess I couldn't expect you to understand," she sighed, "I have to lie to Hojo, my friends, teachers, strangers… It makes me feel so terrible! But they'd never believe me if I told them the truth!"

Inuyasha stopped and spun Kagome around. "You don't have to lie to me," he said, looking intently into her eyes. A he felt his fingers slip on her arm he looked down and saw the blood from her claw wound, and his expression changed.

"I'm sorry, Kagome," he whispered, then yelled, "I'm sorry!" and took off running, leaving Kagome standing stunned on the sidewalk.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Japanese currency is given in dollar equivalent_

* * *

><p>"Kagome," Hojo begged, "you have to help me out here!"<p>

The help Hojo had in mind was convincing the theater owner that a demon had indeed attacked and was therefore responsible for the wreckage. "All we have to do is bring that kid in during the new moon and-"

"Aren't you worried he might hurt the owner?" Kagome cut in. She knew full well that Inuyasha would do no such thing, but Hojo believed that Inuyasha was possessed by a demon every new moon. He should have been concerned.

"Ah, you're right!" he relented. "What are we gonna do? I owe $6,000 in damages!"

"Well…" Kagome said thoughtfully, "Maybe the ears and the claws will be convincing enough…"

"Ears and claws?" Hojo repeated. "I thought you didn't want to bring him in while possess… Kagome?" he called.

She was already gone.

* * *

><p>"Why should I help that stupid human?" Inuyasha whined futilely, running toward the well with Kagome on his back.<p>

"Because you're the reason he's in trouble!" Kagome snapped, "Don't you feel at least a little bad?"

"Hah! When I'm a full-fledged demon I won't go groveling for apologies. If I destroy something people will apologize to me!" Inuyasha replied haughtily.

"You plan on destroying things?" Kagome asked skeptically.

"Um… no."

"…Then what was your point?"

"Ah, shut up! It's not my fault you're too stupid to figure it out!"

"I'm not stupid!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

The conversation continued more or less the same from there until they reached the theater. A short, balding man stood opposite Hojo at the entrance with his back turned, yelling furiously. "How dare you throw a party in my theater! I bet there was all kinds of drinking- how much did you drink? Don't lie!"

"I didn't-! Please, I can prove that there was a demon here!" Hojo looked around frantically and visibly relaxed as he caught sight of Kagome. "See, there they are!"

As the man turned and his facial features came into view, Kagome gasped. "Hojo! This was your father's theater!" she cried delightedly, clapping her hands together, "So that's how you managed to empty it for our date!"

Inuyaha's eye twitched. "That was a date?"

Kagome slapped her forehead. "Idiot."

Hojo's father wasn't at all deterred by their chatter. "These ears are clearly fake!" he declared, stomping over to Inuyasha and he proceeded to yank one, hard.

"Ow! Hey!" Inuyasha snarled, knocking his hand away. The man's eyes widened as he saw Inuyasha's claws.

"The ear… didn't come off…" Hojo's father murmured, "Just what are you up to?"

"I thought Inuyasha was human outside of the new moon?" Hojo jumped in, confused, "What's wrong with him?"

"Uh…" Kagome stalled, searching her mind for a possible excuse, " You see, well… uh..."

"I got worse?" Inuyasha offered impassively.

"Yes! His curse is progressing!" Kagome agreed, relieved. Realizing relief was not the proper response to such a statement she added, "Isn't it tragic?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Yeah, yeah, he saw I'm a demon. Can we go now?" he groaned, turning.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Hojo's father grabbed both Inuyasha's ears and attempted to pull them off together, but only served to annoy Inuyasha immensely. Seeing that he wasn't going to succeed with that, Hojo's father tried pulling on one of his nails. Encountering just as much trouble and being more than little intimidated by Inuyasha's angry face he wisely decided to give up. "Stupid, stubborn costume! Alright. You want me to believe you're a demon, fine. All I know is, if you're the one who trashed the place, you better pay for it. I understand you're just kids but I need the money to reopen my theater. I'll go broke if I don't!"

Kagome's face went ashen. _I didn't think that far ahead!_ she realized, _Of course we need to pay for it! But where are we going to come up with $6,000?_


	3. Chapter 3

Kagome collapsed on the couch upon returning home. _$6,000_, she thought, _great. Mom is going to kill me!_

"Inuyasha, you don't happen to have $6,000 laying around somewhere, do you?" she asked tiredly.

"Dollars?" he replied quizzically. Living in the feudal era had not supplied him any knowledge of modern currency.

"Didn't think so," Kagome sighed, sliding off the couch. She took a second to psyche herself up, then ventured into the kitchen. "Mom…?" she began, but was interrupted by her Grandfather rushing in out of breath.

"Kagome, Kagome!" he shouted excitedly, giving her an asphyxiating hug, "My wonderful granddaughter! You're going to make us rich!" Kagome's face pulled into an exasperated smile.

"Ah… actually I wanted to talk to you and Mom about money. You see, I-" she started to explain.

"Look at this article I found in the paper! Feudal Japanese coinage trade value is at an all time high!"

Kagome blinked, taking the paper from her Grandfather's eagerly outstretched hand. 'Feudal Japanese coins have a current trade value of $2,000 apiece,' she read. "Yes! This is it!" she cried, thrusting the paper triumphantly in the air, "Grandfather, I need you to find a place to sell the coins. Inuyasha and I are off to the Feudal Era!"

* * *

><p>"So what's the plan?" Inuyasha asked as they walked into town.<p>

"We need to do some odd job to get coins- we don't need that many. Three at the least." Kagome answered.

"Wait. You aren't actually planning to pay for the theater, are you?" he asked incredulously.

"Of course _we_ are," Kagome replied indignantly, "You weren't planning to?"

"Nah. If we just stay here in the Feudal Era, that Hojo bozo and his father can't find us to collect the money."

Kagome didn't bother to reply, she just hit him over the head. "Stupid," she scolded.

"Ow! What did I do?"

"First, don't call Hojo names. That's not going to fix anything. And second, we can't just run away from our problems. If you break it you buy it. You trashed the theater, so we're going to pay for it."

"Psh. Can't make me."

"Sit."

And so Inuyasha found himself on the roof of a stranger's house, a hammer in one hand, a shingle in the other, a nails in his mouth.

"You doing okay up there?" Kagome called from the ground.

"Mmph," Inuyasha replied around the nails. He shifted slightly to his left to test the roof's capacity to take his weight. Reasonably assured, he got up and took a step forward…. straight through the roof. He tried to back up but it was too late. An entire radial section about 3 feet long collapsed around him.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, rushing into the house. His arm emerged from under the heap of roof remnants, and with a violent swing he cleared himself of the rubble.

The homeowner, whom had until this point been cowering in the back corner, finally worked up the nerve to be angry. "Hey! You kids! I was paying you to _fix_ the roof, not break it more!"

Inuyasha ignored the man and turned defiantly towards Kagome. "I told you this was a bad idea."

"It's not like you had a better one," Kagome shot back.

"Just get out of here, you useless urchins!" the homeowner yelled, arms flailing, as he chased them out.

This was sadly not to be the last of their bad luck. Inuyasha fainted from the fumes painting a fence, Kagome got poison ivy weeding a garden, Inuyasha was trampled by the horse whose stall he was mucking, and Kagome set the kitchen she was cooking in on fire. The day had been exhausting and the pair had nothing to show for it other than excessive itching, burns and bruises. It was understandable that they were a little depressed.

"How are we ever going to pay off our debt now?" Kagome sighed.

"I still think we don't need-" Inuyasha began offhandedly.

"Don't. Say. Another. Word," Kagome growled, cutting him off.

"Sheesh! So determined," Inuyasha replied, "Does this Hojo bozo really mean so much to you?"

"Well!" Kagome retorted, "Not that it's any of you business, but… no."

Inuyasha had his arms crossed and his back turned, holding himself with ill-founded conviction. "Hah! I knew it! You just want to get the money to- Wait. No?" He turned slowly, eyes wide. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"It was a causal date. He seemed like a nice guy so I said yes when he asked me out. I'm not in love with him or anything," Kagome answered matter-of-factly while examining her nails.

"Oh," he breathed, "Good." Realizing the implications of his statement he bristled. "I- I- I mean, that guy isn't worthy of you, Kagome! I mean, not that you're all that, he's just a moron, and I-" he was saved from digging his hole any deeper by a heady scent drifting in on the wind. "Blood. Human blood. A lot of it, coming from the North."


	4. Chapter 4

"The village!" Kagome cried, jumping to her feet, "We have to help them!"

"Do you sense any Sacred Jewel fragments, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, getting up himself.

"No…" Kagome replied with an edge of warning, "You better not be thinking of abandoning those people, Inuyasha."

He had already sat back down. "Ah… of course not!" Inuyasha consoled, waving his hand.

"Uh-uh" Kagome muttered disbelievingly, "Get up and let's go."

In a matter of seconds they arrived amidst the bonfire that used to be the village. Inuyasha sniffed but couldn't manage to pinpoint the culprit through the heavy smoke. On thing was certain, though: the place reeked of demon.

"Show yourself, coward!" Inuyasha shouted, "Or are you afraid of a real fight? Picking off defenseless mortals- pathetic!"

"Pathetic, am I?" hissed a hidden voice, "I'm not the one with tainted blood. Humph. You mutts are all the same. So eager to fight. So eager to die."

"Say that to my face, you snake!" Inuyasha demanded hotly.

The demon laughed, "As you wish half-demon." His slimy slithering was accentuated by the squeal of structural strain on the buildings his coils slid over. Kagome let out a gasp as he emerged from the smoke.

"He's huge!" she cried in horror.

"Yeah, he could afford to lay of the rice cakes," Inuyasha replied, unconcerned. "Hey fatty!" he called, pulling his sword overhead and taking a flying leap at the demon's monstrous head, "Eat Tetsusaiga!"

"Tsk," the demon chided, bemused, as it dodged, "Insinuating that someone should diet and then encouraging them to make a meal of such a sword. Are you always so contradictory?"

Inuyasha's feet barely touched the ground before he was once again airborne for another strike. "At least I'm not a murderer!" he cried, slicing through the air just next to the demon's head.

"Me, the great Orochi, a murderer?" the snake gasped in feigned dismay, "What a dreadful misconception! I was merely enjoying a late night snack." He opened his mouth to reveal bloodied fangs. "Your blood promises to be especially tasty. The fiery ones always are." Without further warning he lashed out to strike, briefly catching Inuyasha by the ends of his hair.

"Orochi, huh? I'm getting sick and tired of you!" Inuyasha exclaimed, barely quick enough to evade the snake's further attempted bites. _Damn,_ he thought to himself, _I've been forced onto the defensive._ Kagome picked up on this detrimental shift. She knew she needed to create a distraction. Looking around wildly she spotted a barrel of oil that had thus far been spared from the flames. She dipped one of her arrow tips in it and passed it through the fire consuming a nearby house. With a silent prayer, she released the bowstring, managing to shoot her arrow into Orochi's right eye. He reeled back in pain.

"Hey, Orochi! Over here!" Kagome she called out defiantly. The snake turned in fury, struggling to estimate the distance between them with his newly impaired depth perception.

"Don't turn your back on you opponent, snake!" Inuyasha called, charging at Orochi, only to have Orochi coil tightly around him.

"You are such a nuisance! But your friend even more so. What do you say I eat her first?" Orochi muttered darkly, squeezing the air out of Inuyasha's lungs. He was starting to see little black spots when Orochi flung him through a burning building. Kagome was still fumbling to nock her next arrow and she watched in increasing dismay as Orochi advanced toward her. His fangs were a mere two inches from her face when Inuyasha's sword pinned Orochi's tail to the ground. He whipped around, hissing, "Half-demon! You really are determined to feed me that sword!"

"You might as well enjoy a final meal, fatty," he taunted, drawing his sword back, "Where you're going, you'll never need to worry about your weight again!" The demon blanched in disbelief as Tetsusaiga finally connected, scattering blood everywhere. The red line through his neck glittered grotesquely, baring eerie resemblance to a beaded necklace.

"Y-you," Orochi choked, "impossible…" and with a great shudder he lay dead.

"Humph," Inuyasha grunted, sheathing his sword, "What a pest!"

A single cautious clap grew steadily into a roaring applause as the surviving villagers came out of their hiding places one by one. "Thank you so much!" cried a little girl, rushing to hug Inuyasha's knees, "That think was so scary!" Inuyasha patted her back awkwardly.

"Yes, well. You should be thanking Kagome. She wanted to come back for you."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Inuyasha," she scolded lightly. Turning, she gave the villagers a backwards wave. "We're happy to help. Now Inuyasha and I better be off."

"Wait!" cried he frail grandmotherly woman who offered Kagome the gardening job. "You two are in debt, aren't you? Here," she offered as she handed Kagome as small pouch of coins. "We want you to have this. I know it's not a lot, but…"

"Oh, we can't accept this!" Kagome exclaimed, holding the purse out for the woman to take back, "You need it to rebuild your village! And we never ask anything for demon-slaying! It's not right!"

"Kagome…" Inuyasha interrupted, "We really need the money…"

"Child," the woman soothed, "Please. It's the least we can do. You helped us in our time of need. Let us help you in yours."

Kagome smiled and tightened her grip on the purse, drawing it back to herself. "Okay. Thank you. Thank you!" she cried, hugging the old woman, "You've helped us more than you know."

Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched. "Alright, enough with all this mushiness. Let's get outta here!" he muttered, stalking off.

"Goodbye! Thanks again!" Kagome called over her shoulder as she ran to catch up with Inuyasha's receding figure.

The money the villagers gave them was more than enough to pay off the debt to the theater. In fact, Kagome's grandfather installed a Jacuzzi in the back room and bought Buyo a fancy collar besides. He never suspected that part of the money had been siphoned away to Hojo's father. Hojo himself, however, was incredulous to find Kagome's debt paid off within two days.

"How on Earth did you come up with that so fast?" he asked. Kagome smiled.

"Oh… we sold some Feudal Japanese coins," she replied breezily, "Family heirloom."

"Oh!" he cried guiltily, "You shouldn't have had to do that for me! I was going to put up half, you know. But before I knew it you had everything figured out."

"It's alright Hojo. It was no big deal."

"How can I ever make it up to you?"

"You don't need to-"

"I know! I'll take you on $6,000 worth of dates!" Kagome just looked at him, dismayed.

"Hojo that really isn't necessary…"

"I'm going to do it!" he insisted, "Are you free Saturday, Kagome?"

"Uh-"

"It's a date then! See ya!"

Inuyasha was not happy to receive this piece of news.

"Just who does this guy think he is anyway?" he fumed.

"Jealous, Inuyasha?" Kagome teased.

"Gah! No!" he retorted, "It's just, with you traipsing home all the time to see Bozo-"

"Hojo," Kagome corrected.

"_Bozo_," Inuyasha continued pointedly, "How am I supposed to know when there's a Sacred Jewel fragment around?"

"Well if that's all you're worried about, I guess it won't matter if I let him kiss me this time," Kagome said nonchalantly.

"What?" Inuyasha squawked, "I mean, I thought you didn't like him."

"Hm…" she drew out, pretending to think, "I don't remember saying that,"

Inuyasha fell over but recovered quickly. "Oh," he managed.

"I'll be off then," Kagome said as she got to her feet.

"Wait!" Inuyasha, cried, grabbing her wrist. "Don't go," he murmured, gazing pleadingly into her eyes. They stood together like that for a while and slowly, slowly began to lean into each other, little by little, until at last their lips touched.


	5. Chapter 5

Kagome's stomach fluttered as she leaned into the kiss, feeling Inuyasha do the same. Then both characters simultaneously realized what they were doing and pushed each other away.

"W-what are doing? Stupid!" Kagome cried.

"What am I doing? What are _you_ doing? Why did you… I mean, why did you… Why?" Inuyasha sputtered.

"Why what? You started it!" Kagome accused.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"You! You're making me late! I have a date!" Kagome yelled, turning suddenly and making a mad dash for the well. After twenty paces and out of Inuyasha's sight she staggered back slightly. "A date…"

Inuyasha sat down hard. _What the hell was I thinking?_ he groaned internally, _I kissed Kagome. Kagome, of all people! _Inuyasha slumped over, head in his hands. He had sworn to himself long ago that he would never open his heart again. He had already made that mistake once, and it had cost him his life. Thus he decided to trust no one, especially not stubborn, infuriatingly cheerful girls with shining brown eyes who could subdue him with a 'sit' command…

Kagome fidgeted in her seat, unconsciously avoiding eye contact with her date across the table. Hojo was kind and sweet and thoughtful, patient and giving, understanding- everything she wanted in a guy. Everything that Inuyasha was not. The kiss shouldn't have happened. Nonetheless it was haunting her, and try as she might Kagome could not shake the memory out of her head. She kept seeing that desperate longing in his eyes, the soft curve of his mouth as it connected with hers…

"Kagome?" Hojo inquired, pulling her out of her reverie, "Your order?"

Looking up from the tablecloth she noticed the waiter looming expectantly over her. "Uh… um, well…" she drew out, glancing fervently over the menu. Nothing stood out as particularly appealing.

"Do you want to share the spaghetti with me?" Hojo prompted hopefully.

A vision of both of them attempting to slurp up the same strand flashed through her mind, and her stomach turned. "Uh…" she began, scrambling to find a reasonable excuse.

"She'll share with me," Hojo decided, giving the waiter a confident smile. Kagome sagged. _Why is the idea of kissing Hojo suddenly so… unpleasant?_ she wondered.

Inuyasha emitted a low growl as he paced by the well. "I'll tell her it was an accident. It didn't mean anything," he muttered aloud. _It __**didn't**__ mean anything… did it?_ he reproached. The question stopped him in his tracks. He would never be that weak. He would not succumb to that odd lightness she provoked in him. He wouldn't- Inuyasha froze as he sensed Kagome's scent change. _Adrenaline_, he thought, closing his eyes, _here we go again._

Kagome's pulse was racing as she desperately evaded Hojo's attempts to pick up the same strand of spaghetti as she. He was quite nonchalant about placing his chopsticks a mere inch away from hers. _This should be an Olympic sport_, Kagome thought wryly to herself, _It certainly works up a sweat._ Sadly it wasn't long before Hojo's persistence paid off and Kagome was caught. She stared forlornly at the noodle spanning between them as Hojo smiled triumphantly, blissfully ignorant of Kagome's distress. He slurped up his end happily, coming closer and closer until Kagome bit through the strand with her teeth, leaving the end hanging out of Hojo's mouth. He sat back in disappointment, but it wasn't long before he eagerly took up his chopsticks again. _Ah great,_ Kagome sighed, and she reluctantly twirled some noodles around her own chopsticks. _Round 2._

Kagome had no way of knowing that her edginess was reverberating into the Feudal Era where Inuyasha had ceased pacing and was instead sitting cross-legged on the lip of the well, glaring into its depths. His foot was twitching. His cheek was twitching. He couldn't sit still. _What is that Bozo doing with my Kagome?_ he thought possessively. _My Kagome?_ he repeated, falling backwards into the grass. _What the hell is happening to me?_

Kagome breathed a huge sigh of relief when at last the plate was cleared. "That's it!" she announced happily. Hojo appeared crestfallen, likely because Kagome had foiled all of his attempts at kissing her over spaghetti. "That's it, then I can go," Kagome continued elatedly.

"That's it? But don't you want dessert?" Hojo asked hurriedly. Kagome's mood shriveled and died.

"Sure," she offered tiredly, settling back into her chair. _Will this night __**ever**__ end?_

$35.25 later Kagome climbed exhaustedly out of the well. _How am I ever going to endure $6,000 worth of that?_ she whined to herself. Inuyasha jumped to help her with her bag.

"So how was your date?" he muttered, eyes downcast.

Kagome took a deep breath, ready to verbally ream the evening. But something in Inuyasha's posture made her change her mind. "Well," she stated, tossing her hair, "It really was quite romantic."

Inuyasha's shoulders came up instinctively. "Romantic," he deadpanned.

"We had a candlelit spaghetti dinner. He paid," she sustained. Looking around conspiringly she added, "We even ended up sharing a noodle a few times."

Inuyasha turned away from her, his eyes tearing up. _Damn, _he thought.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked reproachfully. He ignored her. "Inuyasha?" she repeated, reaching out to touch his shoulder. He shrugged her off and stepped away. "I was lying. It was a terrible date. The whole time I was counting the seconds until I could get out of there," she rambled, "and I was thinking of you the whole time…"

They both blushed in response. Inuyasha turned around, searching her face. "That kiss…" he began, not sure what he meant to say.

"Yes," Kagome prodded, her heart hammering.

"That kiss… it wasn't… I mean, I don't…" he attempted, momentarily grasping a coherent thought, then losing himself in the depths of her eyes. Inuyasha's lips parted and to his chagrin he found himself kissing Kagome for the second time.


	6. Chapter 6

Fire pulsed through Inuyasha's veins, fueled by Kagome's small gasp. The world fell into place and it was just the two of them in a swirling abyss of emotion that was so vast he felt his heart might burst. He was drowning but he didn't want to come up for air. He would hold her in his arms forever and never let go-

"Inuyasha," Kagome murmured softly into his lips, bringing him out of his reverie. He froze, but couldn't push her away. He could almost hear the thin wail of his heart as it tore in two; he wanted to keep kissing her, damn the consequences. He had thought he'd loved Kikyo, but this… this was a passion beyond anything he'd ever experienced. Still, he would be a fool to ever let a girl in again. To let Kagome destroy him the way Kikyo had.

Sensing Inuyasha's sudden frigidness, Kagome pulled away. The vulnerable, hurt look in her eyes nearly brought him to his knees. "Don't do that to me, Kagome!" Inuyasha demanded, his voice dangerously close to breaking. He stalked angrily around her and punched a tree. He left a mark so deep that his hand came away sticky with sap. Leaves fluttered uselessly to the ground in streams, as if the tree was crying.

Kagome whirled on Inuyasha, her eyes filling with tears. "Don't do what to you, Inuyasha?" she choked out bitterly, "Don't kiss you? Don't love you? Don't open my heart up to you just so you can rip it to shreds? Because you're too stupid to realize you love me back?"

Kagome's tears put Inuyasha over the edge. He had no idea what to do. The smart thing would be to leave and never, ever talk to her again. But he just couldn't stand her being upset, especially since he knew he was the cause of her distress. "Uh," he answered eloquently, "Uh… hm…" He searched around franticly for something to do, something to say. A jagged scent coming from a nearby meadow beckoned him away.

"Hey! Inuyasha! I'm talking to you! Why are you running away?" Kagome called after him, frustrated. Her throat closed up as his back retreated further and further away. "Wait! Stop!- Sit! Sit, you stupid annoying dog-eared jerk! Sit! Sit! SIT!"

It took a minute for the dirt to settle again. From his crater in the ground, Inuyasha held up a shaking hand. Three graceful stems curled out from his palm, topped with fragrant white petals. "Here," he managed to rasp around his bruised ribs, "Take them before my arm collapses."

Kagome picked her way carefully over to his side and wordlessly accepted the flowers. _He loves me, he loves me not,_ she joked to herself. Somehow it wasn't all that funny.

"I'm not stupid," Inuyasha muttered after a while. The air was still.

He eased himself up onto his haunches, looking imploringly at Kagome. "I'm not stupid," he said again, but this time there was a silent question embedded in the statement. Kagome buried her nose in the flowers she was holding and inhaled deeply.

"No," she said wonderingly, "You're not."

And for the rest of the night they were quiet, letting everything unspoken roll between their interlocked fingers.


End file.
